The Middle Passage was the name given to
the overseas trip made by African slaves on their way to the new world colonies
of the European imperial powers. This was only one part of the larger, so
called, triangular trade illustrated above. Slaves were moved to the new world
for forced labor on plantations that produced sugar, cotton, and tobacco among
other commodities. These were manufactured in Europe
into products useable by the general population. These manufactured goods were
also used to bye more slaves from African leaders willing to sell them to
Europeans.

Slave Ships

Loading of a Slave Ship

Tight Quarters on the Deck

Travel
on a slave ship was a hazardous business for Europeans and Africans alike.
Disease and malnutrition ran rampant, as did hunger and dehydration. Ships
often arrived at their destinations reportedly “Low on Flesh”, a euphemism for
being emaciated. One figure states that out of the 9,949 slaves transported on
a particular ship between 1720 and 1725, 1,311 or 13.2% died en route. These
were undoubtedly attributed to cramped living quarters coupled with low food
and water supplies.

Living space for the slaves was also
marginalized. Every man was allotted a space six feet long by sixteen inches
wide; women five feet ten inches long by sixteen inches wide. The numbers were
even smaller by children. The pictures below give us a strong visual image ofhow these people were literally packed
into the cargo holds of these ships.

Often upon these ships, slaves who
were separated from their families would form what was known as fictive
kinships. They would form informal bonds with other members on the voyage who
would take the place of their families. An older woman would usually take the
role of mother and an older man as father respectively. These fictive kinships
would last until the sale of the slaves which would destroy any family united
created on the voyage.

Diagram of a Typical Slave
Ship

Tight Packing in Chains

Slave Trade

Advertisement for Slaves in a Mississippi
Newspaper; Note how the Slaves are Sold Alongside Mules

The ordeal of the African slave was far
from over after he or she was released from the ship upon its arrival in the New World. There were several settlements in the
Caribbean termed “Fattening Stations” where slaves were recuperated from the
harsh journey across the Atlantic in order to
sell for higher prices in market. Indeed, slaves were sold in market as if they
were cattle or horses. One custom that prevailed in the United States until the end of the
Civil War involved the inspection of the slave’s teeth as a measure of worth,
just as a prospective buyer would of a horse. Such practices led to the
inevitable belief of the owners that the slaves were sub-human. This attack
against their humanity is still one that is felt by African Americans today.